Ho-Ho-HO from Right at Home

Lynne Nieman, Joanna Pena and Lisa Furtado wish you a wonderful Holiday Season

December Wishes and Your Support Nurse

You all haven't seen me in a bit, because I have had one of those antibiotic resistant bugs! Blogging has not been high on my list of things to do, but there have been some developments lately. Right at Home has partnered with Your Support Nurse nationally and our location is one that is piloting this program. Your Support Nurse is an awesome Geriatric Care Management service that can be used all over the country for families to get an assessment of their elder's situation in an objective fashion. The family gets a nurse case manager to work with them on the phone and on email. A local nursing company does the house assessment and physical assessment of their loved one. After all of this, the family and the Nurse Case Manager develop a care plan for the future.

They may be working with Right at Home, but they are not affiliated. If a loved one needs assisted living or another LTC facility, they will objectively tell them that. My Support Nurse was founded by Dr. Dan Tobin and is based on his research that concludes that elders with Case Management in their lives is safer and is in a better position to age in place than one that reacts to crisis. Dr. Dan just wrote a book called That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine and has done a tour of Border's nationally. I have met him personally and he is a very caring and understanding guy. So check them out if you need a case management resource.

Lastly, Happy Holidays to all of our Right at Home friends and families. Thank you for being part of our lives.

November is National Home Care & Hospice Month

Did you know that? I think about what we do from where I sit, and I think about what a gift it is to help people stay in their homes. People get to face, what they need to face...but if it is a health problem, and they can live with it in their homes with assistance, Right at Home can help them to live out that dream. Isn't that awesome?

Fuel Assistance For Seniors

Even though our oil costs have dropped, the only good thing that we have coming out of our financial crisis, our seniors may still have trouble paying those heating bill this winter. Here are some resources that came from the MA Council for Home Care Aide Services

ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS FOR MA RESIDENTS
High home heating costs will be a concern for all Massachusetts residents this winter, but even more so for home care aides and their families. The following is a list of programs in Massachusetts designed to help pay for fuel, weatherize homes, and assist with heating system repairs. Please share information on these resources with your staff.

• Massachusetts Fuel Assistance - The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps low-income households pay their heating bills. Both homeowners and renters in MA may apply for this program. For more information or to find out if you qualify, call the Massachusetts Heat Line at (800) 632-8175 or log onto www.massdhcd.com/fuel.
• Citizens Energy Heat Assistance Program - Citizens Energy also provides financial assistance to MA residents who cannot afford their heating bills. The Oil Heat Program gives a voucher of 100 gallons of free oil per heating season to low-income families and elderly residents. The Citizens Energy Distrigas program gives a $150 credit to eligible households who heat with natural gas. For more information on these programs, call (617) 338-6300 or visit Citizen’s Energy at www.citizensenergy.com.
• Good Neighbor Energy Fund - The Good Neighbor Energy Fund provides heating and utility cost assistance to individuals who are facing a short-term financial crisis and do not qualify for most fuel assistance programs. To request assistance, call (800) 334-3047 (if you live in the 508, 617, 781, or 978 area codes) or (800) 262-1320 (if you live in the 413 area code).
• Utility Arrearage Program - The Utility Arrearage Program helps MA households pay overdue utility bills, prevent utility shutoff, and restore utility service that has been shut off. Contact (800) 392-6066 or log onto www.massresources.org.
• MassSAVE - MassSAVE is an energy saving program for MA homeowners and renters which offers tips and information about free home energy assessments, energy-saving products, loan rebates, and other incentives for energy-saving home improvements. To learn more, contact MassSAVE at (866) 527-7283 or visit their website at www.masssave.com.

Caregiver Connections- November 1st

Please spread the WORD!

The North Shore Alzheimer's Partnership is sponsoring our 10th annual Caregiver Connections conference for Alzheimer's caregivers. This is a great morning of information to help families and resources for them in the community. This is an event that gives families tools to work with today and a glimpse of the future. We have great speakers this Year.

Use the link above for more information. It is November 1st from 8:30 to 1:30. It is only $10 and there is FREE respite care onsite for your Alzheimer's loved one- staffed by a nurse and CNA. CEU's are available for professionals.

What is next for this country?

I just looked at my IRA account....some pretty bad news in there! I just feel the need to spout off a little this afternoon.

After our current presidential administration was elected to a second term by the margin of a little county in Ohio, I thought...gosh, we deserve what we get after this election! Who knew it would be as disastrous as this? We have seen the dilution of every institution or public owned entity we have ever known.......financial markets, retirement, physical infrastructure, public education, healthcare and the list goes on and on.....

As a society, I think that we have adopted an attitude of "you're on your own, baby"...I think we all feel like we are out here on our own, without a caring or solid society underneath it all. I don't know what the silver lining is to these thoughts (and as a generally positive person I can usually see one), and I don't really want to get too morose. Who knows, maybe after the crash of it all, our society will start to focus that which is really important-supporting families, healthcare for everyone, education, bridges that don't fall apart...etc., etc

Fun Night Number 2- Lobster Fun

Right at Home was back at it with Fun Night Number 2! This invitation only event is our way to thank those in the community that work with us for all their efforts in caring for our seniors! We spent a beautiful sunset listening to cool Beatles music down at Winter Island in Salem and eating a gorgeous Lobsterbake provided by Ken Rothwell of Salem





Many "old timers" from Fun Night Number 1 came and enjoyed the fact that they did not have to cook their own dinner!



We see Geriatric Care Manager, Sharyn Russell and Rosaleen Doherty, owner of Right at Home digging into the those awesome crustaceans! Also at that table we see JPC Support Services Judy Citron, her guest from Transitions and Deb Coddington from The John Bertram House in Salem. Then we see Jay Kenney, owner of Right at Home listening to the band and enjoying the company of Susan Haas from Grosvenor Park and Sue Anderson and Erin Higgins from NE Rehab.



The Right at Home crew is represented by Lisa Furtado and Lynne Nieman. Enjoying the Corona is Heather from Essex Park and Donna Gambale from Rosewood.




Sue Busiek and Nancy Rubin from BaneCare are in deep conversation. Karen and Christina are representing the best scheduling team on the North Shore! (that would be Right at Home)

Everyone loved the Beatles music provided by Kevin Levesque and friends. Rosaleen and Donna Gambale have resigned from their current positions and are becoming Groupies for the band!



Joanne Sanchez from Peabody Glen and Susan enjoy a laugh! Look at the NE Rehab faces....I think this says it all! We had a really laid back night...eating, drinking and enjoying the gorgeous night! Thank you to our awesome bartender and server from Ken Rothwell!

Caring for a Loved One With Alzheimer's Disease- Cool New Resource

The Copper Ridge Institute, affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University, is a leading provider of dementia research, care and education. The Institute has developed the first training resource of its kind for caregivers, providing a step-by-step method for caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease. Available as a DVD and webcast, the FREE program (www.alzcast.org) recreates many of the daily situations that caregivers may encounter and provides coaching for each of these activities based on best practices developed by The Copper Ridge Institute.

In the arena of Alzheimer's disease the overwhelming emphasis has been on finding the cure. Little emphasis has been placed on researching effective care and teaching best practices for persons with memory impairment. The Copper Ridge Institute has taken a leadership role in the care arena. Fourteen years of clinical work and collaboration has enabled the Institute to establish a program of care and treatment that brings dignity and a quality of life to those persons and families struggling with Alzheimer's disease. Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer’s Disease is a breakthrough program that will help many of us faced with the daunting and emotionally charged task of caring for those we love with dementia. www.alzcast.org

Memory Walk is THIS SUNDAY!

We are on THE MOVE!

The Memory Walk is the number one fund raiser for the Alzheimer's Association. This year, we merged two walks and our area will be walking at Brickstone Square in Andover. Lynne Nieman will be there with the Right at Home booth giving out information about Alzheimer's home care! Drop on by to visit her...

Please support us in our fight against time! Today we all know someone with Alzheimer's. As America ages, we will all have a frightening number of friends and loved ones that have this disease. Remember, Alzheimer's can run it's course over a 20 year period. With the baby boomer generation aging, what will the number of Alzheimer's people in US? Tick ....tock

Hey! Are you an RN that wants to job share?

I have a position for a RN home care supervisor coming up in the next month or so to work with our home health aides out in the field to orient and supervise them in our client's homes. You need to really love working with elders and the paraprofessionals. This is a great opportunity for a community nurse who loves working for a great agency that always tries to do it RIGHT!

The days will be 1/2 day on Wednesday, plus full days on Thursday and Friday. Check out our job description on CareerBuilder!

We work with private and state clients. My office team is terrific and great to work with. If this is you, then please contact me in the office -978-744-5151. -Rosaleen

Video Games Keeping Seniors Fit

As the owner of a home care agency, many times I can be found in the senior centers across the North Shore and Merrimack Valley. The Eagle Tribune just published an article on the newest phenomenon I have been seeing...Wii in the senior center! I have seen the seniors playing bowling as well as other games in the centers. It is keeping them social and moving! Whatever works to keep our seniors engaged is great!

SBAR Training

We had an awesome CEU program in our Haverhill office by a nurse practitioner named Sue Jamison from Educational Solutions for Long Term Care on SBAR communication. It was really interesting. SBAR stands for Situation, Background, Assessment and Resolution. It is a system for health professionals to have precise and consistent communication with each other to relay a client's condition or a concern. The training helped us all to think about what needs to be communicated NOW to solve a client's problem. It seemed awesome for a facility, but I can definitely see how it could be applied to home health care. We may try to find a way to take this idea and create an in service for our aides on communication.

Lazy, Hazy Days

I had a lot of fun today delivering ice cream sundaes to the seniors that receive Meals on Wheels in Marblehead. North Shore Elder Services provided them to the senior centers and my Rotary Club delivered them. Everyone was home and I think they were all looking forward to their sundae. What a fun thing to do on a summer afternoon!

Light Exercise Prevents Abnormal Heart Rhythm in Elderly

I saw an article today on Forbes.com regarding another benefit of exercise for people over the age of 65. A sedentary lifestyle is killing Americans as a whole, but even a little bit of exercise can have a big benefit. The Forbes article states that light to moderate exercise -- just walking a few blocks or even dancing -- can help prevent the abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation in the elderly. Other than heart rhythm, it is known that exercise can help with weight issues and blood pressure. Check out the Forbes article here.

Meet Right at Home at Beverly Senior Day

Come see Right at Home at the Senior's Day in the Park on August 7th! Right at Home is thrilled to be one of the sponsors of the event. There will be a big band, presentations by state and federal dignitaries, and an award of Senior of the Year. This is the biggest event for the Beverly Council on Aging and we hope you can come visit Lynne Nieman at the Right at Home booth. There is a BBQ chicken lunch and an ice cream social. We hope to see you there!

More Pictures of Fun Night...

Lisa Furtado of Right at Home plating the salads...


Sharing the fruits of our labor....













Here is Audrey Connelly, Francine Dawicki and Nancy Rubin taking a little break from the hot stove...










Erin Higgins and Nancy Hardin are preparing the main course...



















Stephen Spano is preparing our vegetarian options for the evening....














Salem elder care is well represented here by Deb Coddington and Lynne Nieman of Right at Home















Marta Sturm is making the pizza and Francine is preparing the bruchetta.....

Oh What a Night...Fun Night That Is!

Right at Home, In Home Care and Assistance had our first Fun Night for our local elder care network here on the North Shore. Jay and I were thrilled at the turnout. It was such a great event because almost 30 of us were able to mingle and leave work behind. It was a so much fun for all of us at Right at Home. Our invited guests have already sent us emails telling us it was the best networking event they were ever at!

We held the evening at Eurostoves in Beverly, who sells high end appliances and runs a large commercial kitchen. The theme was a summer Tuscan Dinner. The invited guests worked in different teams to create the most delicious dinner. The menu consisted of grilled California pizza appetizers, bruchetta, grilled sirloin, summer tilapia with vegetables, vegitarian risotto, and grilled summer vegetables. The dessert was a berry creme brulee that ended up to be the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

We can see here that Mary Niemi from Hospice of the North Shore is really having FUN! We also had people join us from Brooksby Village, Renaissance Gardens, Rosewood, Woodbridge Assisted Living, New England Rehab in Danvers, Stephen and Francine from The Law Offices Spano and Dawicki, the John Bertram House in Salem, the Marblehead Council on Aging and Sharyn Russell Geriatric Care Management.

Stephen Spano, Joan Tobin and Marta Sturm look like they are enjoying the food and drinks!

Lynne Nieman from Right at Home and Cyndi Chapper are having a great time learning how to cook all those wonderful dishes!



Chef Lars was a real task manager! He showed the ladies how to pan roast the sirloin and fillet the fish! Here he is demonstrating his stovetop skills!

We will add more pictures in a day or so! Save the date for September 18th 2008 for our next FUN NIGHT~

Haven't heard from me in a while...

I have no excuse...busy I guess. The North Shore Alzheimer's Partnership met and we are working on the Caregiver Connections Conference on November 1st. We have confirmed that Dr. Peter Morin from the BU Center for Alzheimer's will be the keynote speaking about Managing Challenging Behaviors. He is also on staff at the Bedford VA Hospital. We are very excited about him being with us. The conference looks like it will be shaping up pretty well.

It is HOT out there! If you are taking care of an elder, please make sure that they stay out of the heat of the day and that they stay hydrated. I love the heat, but I know that many of our seniors are in older homes that heat up terribly and they may not have air conditioners. Stay cool!

POP's Concert In Marblehead this Weekend

I wanted people to know that the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor is sponsoring a POP's concert at Abbott Hall in Marblehead to salute our Veterans on Saturday May 17th. This is going to be a great night and tickets are on sale for $25 and $35 at the Marblehead Reporter office and the Arnould Gallery. Proceeds from the evening will benefit Rotary International and Veteran's charities.

Sandra Day O'Connor talks about Alzheimer's

In today's Boston Globe, ex-justice O'Connor told the Special Committee on Aging in the Senate that more attention needs to be focused on research for this disease. She has become one of the most prominent Alzheimer's caregivers in today's world, next to Nancy Reagan. She states the statistics that we have 5 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer's and it is poised to skyrocket to 16 million. The statistics show that one of the fastest growing age groups in America is those over the age of 80, yet one in every two people over the age of 85 are diagnosed with this disease! This is a health crisis that we cannot ignore, yet we don't seem to have the inclination to really bring Alzheimer's to the front burner.

She talked about the 10 million people who are taking care of relatives or friends with dementia. The loss of income and the added stress to these caregivers is intense. The article says that the Alzheimer's Association values this unpaid care at $89 billion.

Whenever I talk to someone about Alzheimer's- they have a loved one or someone close who is living with the disease. I have a relative living with Alzheimer's- DO YOU?

Falls Killing as Many Seniors as Vehicular Accidents!

Fall prevention, fall prevention, fall prevention......that is something that we stress over and over with our home care aides at Right at Home. I was forwarded an article from The Boston Globe yesterday titled

Fatal falls soar among the elderly in Mass.

In 2006, there was a drastic rise in the number of deaths that the Department of Public Health saw among the elderly in Massachusetts. It has been said that almost 25% of all elders that take a fall will die as a direct result of that fall. We have had two former clients that fell (not when we were working) and died from the fall. It is heartbreaking for the families, because they really did not understand the full impact a fall could have on their loved one, outside of broken bones or a stint in rehab. It is happening in long term care facilities, at home, outside....anywhere. Because of various conditions, including mascular degeneration, Alzheimer's disease, blood pressure changes and many, many others elders are falling because they are attempting to do their normal activities, but they do not sometimes understand how limiting their physical condition can be. Please keep your elder safe. Have someone come to the house to do a safety evaluation, get rid of throw rugs, keep an elder's glasses by their bed, etc.

Having in home supportive care can help, because when an elder needs to move, an aide who is trained in ambulation assistance and fall prevention may be there for the moment that an elder feels weak. And even if an elder does fall, in long term care or at home, it is imperative that someone is there to get them up. I have heard of cases where people have been alone at home, and they couldn't get up. They were cold and suffering for hours. This is not a well repeated Lifeline commercial (I've fallen and I can't get up!). This is very serious and it is a VERY good idea for someone to have Lifeline. The only downside is that the elder needs to be aware to press the button or have the short term memory to remember.

If there is a fall, Right at Home aides are trained to call 911 to have EMT's come and help them. An aide should NEVER pick up an elder by themselves. This could lead to both of them falling.

Fall prevention is the one of the keys to elder safety.

Merrimack Valley Alzheimer's Conference

The 20th Annual Merrimack Valley Alzheimer’s Conference is slated for Saturday, April 26, at the Wyndham Andover Hotel in Andover, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The educational conference, designed for family members and professionals caring for people afflicted with Alzheimer's or dementia, is co-sponsored by Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and Merrimack Valley Azheimer's Partnership. The conference will also feature vendor displays of products and services that help and support Alzheimer's patients and caregivers. To register or for more information call 978-946-1321. (believe it or not there is no web link that I can send you to).

Please visit Lynne Nieman at the Right at Home table to learn about our Alzheimer's support services in the Merrimack Valley.

Interesting Alzheimer's Article

I was forwarded a link to a the New York Times website for an article that they did regarding Alzheimer's called Zen and the Art of Coping with Alzheimer's. It is very concise, and sometimes depressing, but what it talks about the current thinking on the attitude of the adult caregiver. It talks to the technique of being "OK" with seemingly irrational behavior and jumbled conversation. It also speaks to the technique of redirecting an Alzheimer's person when they are following a tangent that could be disagreeable or potentially dangerous.

The depressing piece was about the drug companies and how the Alzheimer's drugs have a very marginal effect on the disease, but desperate families will try anything to slow down the progression of the disease. It also noted, that the current political climate is not showing any commitment to bringing more resources to the Alzheimer's and dementia table. With the aging of the baby boomers and the continued growth in the Alzheimer's population, this is a train that the politicians will not be able to avoid for long.

My father once said that he did not want to outlive his mind after seeing the effect of the Alzheimer's on a close family member. Our bodies are more healthy than any generation of people has ever experienced. How do we keep our minds healthy? There are suggestions, but there is no silver bullet. There is no supplement or drug that can help us avoid Alzheimer's. All we can do as a society, right now, is to love the Alzheimer's people we know, and meet them where they are at- because they have lost the ability to meet us.

Alzheimer's Conferences North of Boston

Lynne Nieman and I are co-chairing the North Shore Alzheimer's Partnership Annual Conference- Caregiver Connections on November 1, 2008. We have worked on this conference for several years so we look forward to assisting the Partnership in making this a conference a success for the the caregivers in the area.

On Saturday April 26th, the Merrimack Valley Alzheimer's Conference is being held at the Wyndham Andover on Old River Rd. in Andover. It will run from 8 AM to 12:30 PM. I went to this conference for the first time last year and found it to be very good. It is put on by the MV Partnership and Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley. The registration deadline is April 22nd. If you have questions, you can call Janice Boyd at 800-892-0890 Ext 1321. Right at Home will be getting a table there so please come by and say hello!

Right at Home News- February 27th

I was waylaid in Florida because of last Fridays snowstorm, with my little kids and had to spend 3 extra days in the sunshine.....too bad for me! The Right at Home management staff and care staff did an outstanding job of manning the ship while I was away.

I always think about our local elders in these snowstorms. Our clients have Right at Home caregivers to help them get around or to do errands for them. Other elders in our community just get stuck at home, or make unsafe attempts to shovel or walk our uneven sidewalks (Marblehead, where I live can be especially treacherous for winter walking). If you have an elderly neighbor, please stop over to see if there is anything that you can do for them. Even if it is picking up milk when you are out, it can mean the difference in that person's day.

Other news at Right at Home finds Lynne Nieman, our Community Relations Liaison, being brought down temporarily with a medical condition. We miss Lynne here at the office and we hope to see her back meeting our clients and their families very soon.

Does Managing Bills for Your Loved One Drive You Crazy?

Many of our adult caregivers are managing bills for their elder relatives with or without truly having a Power of Attorney. Sometimes, an elder client must give away managing their affairs, not because of dementia or confusion, but maybe eyesight is failing or there are organizational issues. We have been recommending a local company to help our clients in this area. The company is named Commonwealth Cash Management. They offer a professional daily money management service to get those bookkeeping tasks done. Their Personal Cash Management services encompass personal bookkeeping, recordkeeping, bill paying and investment data aggregation services. Each customer is assigned a dedicated CCM Client Assistant who works with the customer/caregiver, operating within a system of institution-quality checks and balances. The Client Assistant is available to make personal visits on a schedule of the person's choosing, and the frequency of your contact with CCM is always up to the client. This company is based right here in Salem, MA and the founders KC Kommoss and Jeff Plakans have extensive experience offering financial services right here on the North Shore. Our adult caregivers always have WAY too much on their plates. When they look for local cash managers, there is not much choice up in this area. Sometimes individuals will "bill pay" for elders, but they are not real companies and they open up the elder to fraud or as the victim of horrible mistakes. Using a professional company for Daily Money Manage, only makes sense. We here at Right at Home understand that if our clients use a professional service, then they have some level of protection. Sometimes we see Geriatric Care Managers getting involved with money as conservators. These services can run upward of $100 per hour just to get the bills done and the accounts reconciled! That is crazy! My article on the 7 Questions has been featured on their partner Newsletter. Be sure to check it out! Happy Valentines Day!

Wings Cares Women's Expo

I am speaking on March 8th at the Salem Waterfront Hotel for the Wings Cares North Shore Women's Expo. Wings Cares stands for Women in Networking Giving Support. Proceeds from the event are being donated to Art for Life Foundation, here on the North Shore. This group funds programs to help children in hospitals through art.

This is the first time that this event is being held and I think it will be very interesting. The topic that I am speaking on is Caring for an Aging Parent. The attendees are businesswomen on the North Shore who are balancing careers, kids and possibly other responsibilities, like taking care of their parents. People are always so baffled when they are thrown into the process of adult caregiving. It is almost like we feel that "this will never happen to me!"

I hope that I can give them a little direction in the time that I have allotted. The other topics are financial, balance related and political topics. It should definitely be interesting and it is GREAT to have it in Salem!!

What You Need to Know Before Hiring an In-home Caregiver for an Aging Adult or a Disabled Adult

Right at Home Provides Seven Key Questions to Ask Before Making a Decision

Recent studies estimate that 24 million caregivers, or about 16 percent of the population, provide care to adults ages 50 years or older in the United States. These people feel unprecedented pressure to find immediate assistance as they try to balance their own career and family with the care needs of their loved one. In the process, many unknowingly create a risky situation for everyone involved.

More and more families, in an attempt to save time and money, are hiring “underground” caregivers—those caregivers who are not affiliated with a company or professional organization that provides proper caregiver management and training. In fact, most underground caregivers are hired by families without a background check and thorough pre-screening process. Family members doing the hiring may not even know if the caregiver has legal status to work in the United States and are unaware of the ramifications of doing so. Moreover, most families are unaware of their responsibilities regarding employer taxes, insurance needs and provisions of workers compensation.

Many states have or are passing laws to protect families and against senior caregiver “horror stories”. In the meantime, Right at Home urges families to give the process of hiring a caregiver careful consideration. Right at Home encourages families to ask the caregiver agency or the independent caregiver the following questions at the start of the hiring process:

Seven Critical Questions to Ask Before Hiring In-home Caregivers:

1. What happens if the caregiver becomes ill or isn’t available? In other words, can the agency or the independent caregiver make immediate arrangements to provide continuous service to the person in need?

2. Who has legal responsibilities for social security and federal and state taxes, as well as unemployment insurance?

3. Is the caregiver legal to work in the U.S. and can the agency or the caregiver provide legal documentation of the caregiver’s status?

4. If the caregiver is injured, who is responsible for medical and other costs, such as unemployment and workers compensation insurance? Remember: Many homeowner insurance policies specifically exclude such injuries via clauses called domestic employee exclusions. This means the homeowner can be held responsible for the medical costs of an injured independent caregiver.

5. Have all proper checks been completed including a criminal history background check, a state abuse registry check, and have prior work references been contacted? A reliable agency will have completed these before hiring the caregiver. Families who hire caregivers not associated with an agency should conduct these procedures at their own expense.

6. Is the caregiver bonded and insured to cover any injury to the client, damage or theft? In addition, when an agency says it is “bonded,” family members should be sure to ask if their bond covers both injury and damages related to the caregiver working in the home.

7. Assuming a family member is not available to supervise paid caregivers at all times, what kind of documentation will be provided to substantiate the completion of services? In other words, what kind of proof will the family have that their loved one is actually receiving the much needed care for which the family is paying?

If a potential caregiver doesn’t have the time or resources to answer these important questions, it’s probably best to seek out a professional home care agency that takes responsibility for background checks, taxes and insurance liabilities. At Right at Home of Salem, we have the resources to take those precautions in order to provide peace of mind to those we serve. An important part of providing highly personalized and flexible care is making sure the family is protected, too.

About Right at Home

Right at Home offers in-home supportive care, personal care, home health aide and nursing assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently. Right at Home directly employs all caregiving staff, each of whom are thoroughly screened, trained, bonded and insured prior to entering a client’s home. All ongoing care is monitored and supervised RN field staff supervisors. For more information on Right at Home, visit the company’s Web site at www.rightathomemass.net. To sign up for Right at Home’s free adult caregiving e-newsletter, Caring Right at Home, please go to www.caringnews.com.

Right at Home Leadership Conference

Jay and I are out at the Right at Home Leadership Conference in Cancun, Mexico. The conference is a collection of the 15 most successful Right at Home owners in the US. We are very proud to be in this group. We have spent the day with Alan Hager and the other senior management at Right at Home to talk about the current issues with our home care agencies and how to make them better.

This group of people is so knowledgable and committed to client care. I don't think there is any group of home care agency owners that has such a wonderful support system. This is the reason why Right at Home continues to be the most caring and innovative home care group in the the US. We have been talking about Right at Home University, the system we use to educate our caregivers and the Care Rewards system we use to reward our caregivers for giving wonderful, quality care. When Jay and I went to this conference last year, we learned so much from our peers, which translated into better home care for our clients. I suspect that 2008 will be the same! Adios!